bookmark_borderThen she stole the sailor’s heart

Pillory, whipping post and stocks Wallingford, Berkshire;  sketch
Pillory, whipping post and stocks; based on a drawing by Llewellynn Jewitt

Jeffery Hart Bent was not a very forgiving man.  Jeffery once passed a toll that he thought he shouldn’t have to pay. When they asked Jeffery for the fare, he rammed through the gate, breaking it, and continued on his way, leaving the broken booth behind him.

When called to Australia’s Supreme Court, Jeffery didn’t seem to see the condemned man as having many more rights than the broken tollbooth.  The court was a man short when a squeaky clean English solicitor named Garling was held up at sea on his way to New South Wales, captured by an American ship. Only, they weren’t a short, as there were convicts who had served their time and were eligible to serve in the court. Jeffery Hart Bent, however, would not consider it, and he held in contempt any of his advisors who would.

Judge Bent had heard many stories from his little brother Ellis, no doubt, but nothing could prepare him for the sea voyage he was about to make. Continue reading “Then she stole the sailor’s heart”

bookmark_borderThe fate of Captain Rowland and his privateer brig Holkar

Stranded on her tropical island, it’s likely that Susannah Lalliment didn’t know or care what happened to her would be rescuers turned deserters, Captain Rowland and his Holkar privateer.

To the British navy and merchant marine, however, the brig Holkar was a menace.

Slowed only by the captured ships and other prizes they had to sell, Captain Rowland and his crew turned back home to turn in his prizes. The Emu was taken to New York, and other prizes to other ports.

Continue reading “The fate of Captain Rowland and his privateer brig Holkar”

bookmark_borderSusannah Lalliment meets the American pirates

Despite her conviction, Susannah Lalliment was lucky. The far off colonies of the Empire had too few loyal subjects, and the parliament had an idea of how to get more people there. Susannah’s death sentence was commuted to banishment, life on the other side of the world. Continue reading “Susannah Lalliment meets the American pirates”

bookmark_borderSentenced to death over a ten pound bank note

A gun pointed at the queen on a ten pound noteSusanna Lalliment didn’t know how to spell her own name.   She was said to be descended from French Huguenot refugees, but she seemed to speak English well enough.

The Lalliments were skilled lace makers in Nottingham. The lace business in Nottingham, however, was changing.  New technology put many traditional craftsmen out of work.

Perhaps being descended from immigrants contributed to workforce mobility.  Susannah and her father moved to London; and that’s where all the trouble started. Continue reading “Sentenced to death over a ten pound bank note”